Cincy Coworks In The News

Posted under , , , , on January 17th, 2011 by gerard – Leave a comment

Cincinnati Coworks has been mentioned a few times around the interwebs recently.  I thought I’d recap a quick list.

While I’m at it, in case you don’t look at the events tab, two new local meetups have found a home at Cincy Coworks.

We’ve got other big news – namely, we’re moving to a bigger space!  But I will save that for later.  Stay tuned for a formal announcement and details.

Get To Know A Member – Michelle Taute

Posted under , , , on January 3rd, 2011 by gerard – 1 Comment

Our latest in a series of member profiles.

Who are you, and what do you do?

Hi, I’m Michelle Taute, the lone writer at Cincy Coworks. (Well, writer, editor and creative entrepreneur.) I’ve done everything from writing articles for major national magazines to creating board game content and penning copy for Fortune 500 brands.

How did  you come to join Cincy Coworks?

I’ve been obsessed with The Grotto in San Francisco for years and kept hoping someone would start something similar in Cincinnati. One day, I stumbled across Cincy Coworks online while writing at a coffee shop.

What cool project are you working on these days?

I’m finishing my second book, The Design Activist’s Handbook, with my co-author, Noah Scalin, and working on some corporate projects I can’t tell you much about. You’ll also find me blogging regularly for The Creative Freelancer Blog. Check out my latest post: 5 Freelancing Lessons From My Remodeling Contractor.

Get To Know A Member – Paul Henrich

Posted under , , , on November 3rd, 2010 by gerard – Leave a comment

Our latest in a series of member profiles.

Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m founder of Henrich Interactive, a web development company in Cincinnati.  We create purposeful web sites and consult on data analysis for small- to medium- businesses, startups, and our own projects.

How did  you come to join Cincy Coworks?

I found out about Cincy Coworks online when I was looking for a place to work side-by-side with other creative people. I met with founders Gerard & Bill, and others interested in the idea, and we decided to make a go of it.

What cool project are you working on these days?

Shhh… it’s a secret. Follow @paulhenrich to be first to know.

Inside The Numbers: Cincy Coworks P&L

Posted under , , , , , , on October 29th, 2010 by gerard – Leave a comment

One of he pillars of coworking is Openness.  People are always asking me our revenue and our expenses and – are we breaking even?  Now, I’m not an accountant, but I can put together a spreadsheet.  So in the spirit of openness, behold, I give you the Cincy Coworks P&L, year-to-date.

Balance graph Background: we were lucky enough to find a move-in ready retail space and negotiated a reasonable rent.  So we had no build-out.  Our primary start-up expense was furnishing the space and kitchen.  The report goes back 6 months, though we’ve only been open for 4 – we had some early commitments before openings. 

In the lower right-hand corner in the green cell, you can see our current bank balance.  Clearly, Bill and I will not be retiring on Cincy Coworks anytime soon.  But the good news is that we opened in the black, and have stayed in the black, so we must be doing something right.

Our top expense is of course rent, followed by furniture, internet, and supplies.  Important note: supplies on the P&L mostly refer to one-time purchases like the wi-fi router, power strips, and hardware.  Consumables like paper towels, trash bags, and keeping the fridge stocked has been a 100% community effort by our members.

I had hoped to see other interesting patterns, but could not find any.  Our revenue varied widely due to a surprising amount of turnover in the first few months.  Our expenses varied because every time a new member joined in the beginning, we bought a desk.  Our expenses also varied because, though I am a smart guy, I am not smart enough to figure out when our internet bill is due (thanks for nothing, Cincinnati Bell).

We would like to start a nest egg.  Interested in joining?

Get To Know A Member — Bill Barnett

Posted under , , , on October 27th, 2010 by gerard – 1 Comment

Our first in a series of member profiles.

Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m a late starter and an entrepreneur, an odd mix to be sure. I say "late starter" because I got married, earned my degree, had my first child, and found my calling in life after the age of 35 and most of that after turning 40. I am a former Marine and worked for 17 years mostly as an aircraft mechanic for a large commercial airline. A hockey injury forced me behind a desk for a couple of months as desktop computers began appearing in the workplace in the early 90′s and the rest, as they say, is history. I earned a BS in computer science from the University of Cincinnati in 2002 and was hired that same year by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where I wrote PHP Web applications. Recently I’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and have co-founded three companies since March 2008. I became an independent software developer in March of 2009 and love life "on the outside."

How did  you come to join Cincy Coworks?

Cincy Coworks is one of the three companies I mentioned co-founding. I met Gerard Sychay, the other co-founder, while working at Children’s Hospital. We were involved in a couple professional development groups after hours and he helped me form the local PHP developers group in 2005. From the outset of our professional careers we shared a sense of the importance of community and we looked around the country at other similar sized cities and saw some of the interesting things that were taking place there and we wanted to do something similar to promote Cincinnati as a hub of innovative thinking. Cincy Coworks is that "something."

What cool project are you working on these days?

BudgetSketch Aside from Cincy Coworks, any free time I have is consumed by my other startups. The first is BudgetSketch, a Web-based personal finance tool that is the antithesis of Mint. Mint is about looking backward at past spending where the users of the application are actually the product that is being consumed by large commercial lenders. BudgetSketch is about looking forward and making a plan for your money which might otherwise be spent impulsively. The second is Gaslight Software which we describe as an agile software development cooperative. Essentially we’re a group of professionals who have worked together, albeit as independents, for many years. Working together we can maximize our skills to the benefit of our clients. At Gaslight, we work with companies large and small, new and old but what we deliver is consistent, quality software.

Coworking Visa – Don’t Work From Home Without It

Posted under , , , , , , on October 13th, 2010 by gerard – Leave a comment

What is the coworking visa program? 

A coworking visa allows active members of one space, when traveling, to use another coworking space, gratis. Terms vary from space to space, with regard to hours of operation, reservation requirements, etc. 

- Coworking Wiki

Full-time members of Cincy Coworks automatically become beneficiaries of the “visa” exchange program that gives members access to coworking facilities in other cities and even other countries.  Because we offer three free days to out-of-town participating members, our members are entitled to three free days in qualifying sites as well.

Even better, the visa program applies within Cincinnati too!  Working Side By Side and Cincy Coworks have created a Cincinnati Coworking Visa program with reciprocal arrangements allowing their respective members use of the other’s space for a set number of days per month.  To date, we’ve crafted the arrangement for the specific needs of each interested individual.

If you are a road warrior, or often find yourself criss-crossing the city for meetings, this is one more reason to join.